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At least in the beginning, most of the made-for-Windows-8 devices you're going to see will have a very similar form factor -- namely, a tablet that slots into a detachable keyboard dock. Sony, though, is taking a different tack: the outfit is ignoring the hybrid trend altogether and will instead sell the VAIO Duo 11, one of a select few slider PCs to hit the market. Though we already got hands-on, we're just now learning about pricing and availability: the company just announced that the Duo is coming out October 26th (the same day as Windows 8) and will start at $1,100.

That's a lofty price, to be sure, but with a spec sheet that includes Ultrabook guts, a backlit keyboard, NFC, GPS and a 1080p, IPS, Gorilla Glass display, we don't see how it could've cost much less. Take a gander at the design, and you'll see it's mostly made of magnesium alloy and, having handled it ourselves, we can attest to the sturdiness of the hinge mechanism. Compared to other sliders, which often make do with cramped keyboards, this offers a reasonably spacious layout, though it comes at the expense of a trackpad. Indeed, there's no touchpad here; just an optical pointing stick. (Thankfully, it seems pretty precise.) Additionally, the Duo 11 supports pen input, and comes with a dual digitizer pen that can recognize 256 levels of pressure sensitivity. As a tablet-like device, it has not one, but two cameras, both capturing at 2.4-megapixel resolution.

Continuing our tour of the device, the 2.84-pound system is home to a surprisingly robust collection of ports, including HDMI-out, two USB 3.0 sockets, an Ethernet jack (!), memory card slot, headphone jack and VGA. Yes, VGA. This might be a good time to clarify that Sony envisions this as a machine for road warriors, though it comes not with Windows 8 Professional, but Home Premium. That would also explain the battery situation: in addition to the built-in 4,960mAh cell, it will be offered with an optional slice battery that promises to double the runtime. Bonus: the spare has its own AC port, so you can plug it directly into the outlet. Again, the Duo 11 starts at $1,100 with a Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD (you can upgrade to a 256 drive and a Core i5 or 7 CPU if you wish). That's all she wrote for now, but check out our hands-on for more photos and a quick video.

Sony is clearly bent on getting the VAIO Duo 11 to market on time -- just as we're recovering from our post-IFA jet lag, the Windows 8 slider has popped up for approval at the FCC. The PC put through the wringer is very much like what we saw at the show, with 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC and that signature stylus on offer. There's no sign of 3G or 4G for the road warrior crowd. We don't have any clues as to the exact US release timing from the FCC's sign-off, but it does clear a path for an American release side by side with the European model in late October, if Sony yearns for some international synchronicity.

Sony just threw itself fully into the touchscreen Windows 8 arena -- it's introducing the VAIO Duo 11 slider tablet and the Tap 20 combination desktop and tablet design at its IFA 2012 press conference. The Duo 11 is a noticeably amped-up realization of the Hybrid concept we saw at CES. Its 11.6-inch, 1080p touchscreen is joined by a proper digitizer stylus for low-lag handwriting as well as some seriously powerful innards for a convertible PC its size: we're talking an Ultrabook-level Core i3, i5 or i7 as well as a 128GB or 256GB SSD, NFC wireless, GPS, and HD-capable cameras at the front and back. Sony is hoping for a late October release for this beast of a slate, although we haven't been given that all-important price.

The VAIO Tap 20, meanwhile, is more than just a tilting all-in-one desktop in the vein of Lenovo's IdeaCentre A720. Despite carrying a 20-inch, 1,600 x 900 touchscreen, it's still very much battery-powered -- you can lug the 11.4-pound PC into the living room and treat it like a tiny multi-touch table, if that's your inclination. It's sharing the same processor picks as the Duo 11, but it turns to more conventional 750GB or 1TB hard drives and puts the emphasis on shareable apps like Family Paint and the Fingertapps Organizer calendar. Not surprisingly, there's only one, front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera here, although NFC does make the cut. The Tap 20 is due to arrive at about the same time as its smaller Duo 11 sibling, although we're once again without details of how much it will cost.

We got a look at some hybrid PC concepts from Sony at CES way back in January, and it looks like we could soon be seeing one such device in actual product form. PocketNow has gotten a hold of the image above (and a few more) revealing a hereto unannounced VAIO Duo 11 convertible tablet / laptop. That's quite obviously a Windows 8 device -- likely not the RT version, as PocketNow points out due to the presence of a full-fledged Office -- but details are unfortunately light beyond that. As you can see, it also apparently includes a stylus, and that "11" in the name would seem to indicate an 11-inch screen -- putting it in line with the 10.6-inch display on Microsoft's own Surface. You can get a closer look at it at the source link below.